Witness: 2 shot at Central El Paso gas station in fight over parking

El Paso police are investigating a shooting at a gas station at East Yandell and North Mesa. (Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)

A man and a woman were shot Thursday afternoon during an argument apparently over a parking spot at a gas station near Downtown El Paso.

The shooting occurred around 2:40 p.m. after people in two black BMWs stopped next to each other at the store entrance of the Chevron gas station on East Yandell Drive at North Mesa Street.

A police spokesman said that the man and woman were taken to a hospital with wounds that were not thought to be life threatening. The alleged shooter remained at the scene, where he was taken into custody by police.

A gas station customer who saw the incident said that a man was arguing with a woman, claiming that she had taken his parking spot.

The shooter's car had a handicapped placard.

REPORTER

Daniel Borunda

Witnesses said the shooter was a man who was with a woman wearing medical scrubs. In the other car were a man and two women, including one with bright red hair.

The shooting was seen by several witnesses, including a city work crew that had stopped at the gas station.

The customer said the dispute escalated when two women began arguing and one of the women was slapped.

" 'Nobody's going to mess with my wife,' " said the man, according to the customer. "He got upset, and that's when he went to his car and got the gun."

The man fired his handgun once, hitting a man and a woman, the customer said. The man and the woman then fell down.

Bystanders rushed to help the victims.

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"It was eerie," the customer said. "He was calm, waited for police (after putting the gun back in his car). He was as hyper as a man could be before" taking out the gun and firing.

The alleged shooter was in custody but had not been arrested or charged as of early Thursday evening. Police had not released the names of the people involved.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102. Follow him on Twitter @BorundaDaniel